Sohu Video finally invests 100 million yuan to build the first VR content ecosystem

2016 is the first year of VR (virtual reality), and every company on the front line of the Internet hopes to get a piece of the pie in this technology field that is considered to be the next world-changing technology. Countless mobile phone, PC, and hardware manufacturers are flocking to it, and in terms of content, major domestic video websites are also unwilling to miss this opportunity. Mango TV, iQiyi, Youku, etc. have successively announced their own VR strategies.

Sohu Video, which has always been a pioneer, has remained silent. Is it because of insufficient technical preparation or because it feels the timing is not right? This leaves the industry in suspense.

Amid speculation, Sohu Video announced today that it has officially launched its VR strategy, planning to explore VR technology and commercial innovation, open up channels for VR content production, distribution and promotion, and invest over 100 million yuan to build China's first VR self-media platform.

How will Sohu Video spend this money?

Careful people will find that in fact, as early as June this year, Sohu Video's self-media VR panoramic channel has quietly been launched. This is also the first self-media platform in China that fully supports VR panoramic playback. For VR content, it can currently achieve synchronization between PC, mobile, and TV, and fully support the playback of VR videos.

In just three months, Sohu Video has gathered more than 50 VR producers, more than 1,000 videos, and an average of 3 million views per month, covering the current mainstream VR content categories, including extreme experience, travel and humanities, game animation, variety shows, sitcoms and other ten categories.

Behind the entire Sohu Video's self-media platform, a large number of professional video production teams have gathered. As of now, the total number of producers exceeds 3,800, the number of video columns exceeds 23,000, there are about one million videos, and the monthly viewing volume of the entire platform is nearly 3 billion.

It is understood that Sohu Video PGC self-media "Gold Producer" plan plans to invest a total of more than 1.6 billion yuan in resources in 2016, including 100 million yuan in cash, 500 million yuan in advertising resources, and 1 billion yuan in promotional resources to support gold producers, and the share ratio can be as high as 60% to 90%.

Sohu Video VR cooperation platform will build a content ecosystem around the entire industry chain. Producers of VR panoramic videos will receive top priority in terms of funding and resources, and receive strong support in shooting technology, brand communication, content promotion, patch advertising revenue sharing, and co-produced programs. At the same time, videos selected as top content will receive the highest rights and interests of gold medal producers.

Ma Yi, general manager of Sohu Video Product Technology Center and 56.com, said that Sohu Video VR cooperation platform provides several major functions such as content operation, advertising docking, resource docking, and marketing sharing, focusing on supporting and motivating the majority of producers, and striving to expand and improve the entire VR market ecosystem.

Connecting the VR industry upstream and downstream is the key

Looking around domestic companies, the companies whose products involve VR include Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba, Xiaomi, LeTV, Baofeng, iQiyi... and many startups based on virtual reality technology, such as Ruiyue, Yishi, 3Glasses... The list can be very long. There are more than 100 companies involved in virtual reality technology in China. However, the VR industry, which is so explosive, seems to be prosperous on the surface, but it is difficult to form an ecosystem. I can't help but ask how Sohu Video will connect the upstream and downstream of the enterprise when doing VR at this time?

Sohu Video VR Cooperation Platform will serve VR content producers, providing a full range of services including IP, story, shooting and distribution. It will provide content production docking by serving VR upstream and downstream hardware partners, while opening up VR shooting and production of Sohu's own content and cooperative content. It will also serve the real estate, automobile, tourism industries and business partners, providing content customization docking.

It is reported that Sohu Video has made a lot of preparations in terms of content. For example, its self-produced variety show "Talking about the Olympics" uses VR live broadcast, and "Diaosi Man", "Pancake Man" and "Dear Princess Syndrome" also use VR to provide a richer viewing experience.

In addition, the linkage between film and games is also a major feature of Sohu Video's promotion of VR content. Ma Yi said, "In the next one or two years, we can achieve the integration of games and videos through panoramic videos and VR videos. Games and videos used to be two very large industries in the Internet industry. In fact, there are many differences between them, but with the update of equipment and the advancement of technology, the two industries have gradually merged."

In terms of hardware, Wang Quanfeng, general manager of Sohu Video's home entertainment division, said that in terms of hardware cooperation strategy, Sohu's positioning in cooperation with the industry chain is to focus on content distribution platforms and provide VR video APPs based on massive video content for output device manufacturers. Sohu Video VR works closely with hardware upstream and downstream to provide a VR launcher with Sohu characteristics. Sohu Video VR platform will support various VR devices, including mobile VR glasses, helmet all-in-one machines, PC all-in-one machines, etc.

When it comes to VR, Sohu Video has invested money, obtained content, provided technology, laid out a platform, and connected with hardware manufacturers. As the industry's first online video platform to strategically promote the development of VR self-media content, Sohu Video has made large-scale strategic investments to support VR producers, provide all-round support, and build a complete ecosystem. Its chances of catching up have greatly increased.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.